This application claims a priority based on German application 199 64 133.1, filed Nov. 22, 1999, and the contents of that application are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to a rotary switch having a rotary knob, or button, with a rotary-knob lower part.
Rotary switches are often used in dashboard panels and other places in automotive engineering. Such rotary switches or rotary resistors are known from German Patent 197 12 294 C1, German Patent 196 36 643 C1 as well as German Patent Application 198 34 374 A1. In a particular structure, rotary switches are also structured as compact rotary controllers.
It is a disadvantage that known rotary switches, or rotary controllers, do not meet head-impact criteria, in that they often project too far out of the front panel of the dashboard of the vehicle in the event of a crash.
An object of this invention is to provide a rotary switch that conforms to head-impact criteria, or requirements.
According to principles of this invention, a rotary switch has predetermined yield, or breaking, points, or areas, which are provided on a rotary knob or a rotary-knob lower part so that when a high force acts on the rotary switch these members are collapsed at these yield points and the rotary knob is shifted toward a rotary-knob lower part.
This invention is based on the idea of integrating a displaceable, or collapsible, material into a rotary switch, for example by having yield points which permit the rotary switch to sink into a front panel of a passenger vehicle or commercial vehicle under increased pressure of an impact. Fracture, or breaking, point members may be structured as ribs that yield and have the predetermined yield points or they may be structured as spring elements. For deformation of the rotary switch into itself, hollow spaces are created into which the rotary knob, or a rotary-knob lower part, can be depressed, for which purpose these hollow spaces are built into the respective mating piece. These spaces are structured so that the ribs and spring elements have the opportunity to sink further in the event of a impact.